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The shiur in English
The Yanuka’s own words in this shiur, translated into English by Lehallel · 3,211 words · 17:46. Press a time to hear it said.
0:00 I bless you with all the blessings, amen, and all good bounty, amen. May the merit of the Torah protect you, amen. May Hashem spread a shelter of peace over you, amen, and may there be among you, among us and in the whole world love, brotherhood, peace and friendship, amen, amen. May all baseless hatred vanish from the world, amen. May there be peace in the whole world, amen. Baruch Hashem, I waited all week to meet you, to see you.
0:28 Rosh Chodesh Kislev. I love you, I bless you and I pray for you. I learned a few important things this week, baruch Hashem. I learned many important things. First of all, that I merited to be an important man who was recorded twenty years ago. That shows I was important. My words were important, since already twenty years ago I was recorded. Apparently I said many good things, and they wanted to hear us.
0:59 Baruch Hashem, I take it all for the good. And whoever truly looked into it always, always, always knew that sadly, the world today is so full of opponents, of so many issues and struggles. It is like when two people are seen sitting off to the side and talking, and someone joins the conversation: he will never understand what was said five minutes earlier. And people want to understand twenty years back, and to take things and pull them out of their context. These are things all the channels aired — may they do teshuvah, amen, amen — and still more, to shine the light and to reveal His G-dliness, blessed be He. Amen. At that time — I will tell you this very briefly — we are talking about twenty years ago — I was alone, alone, alone,
1:44 with a long road lying before me. I built everything with blood and sweat. Many, many of you know the story — some know it, some do not. And of course, to lay such foundations without the tools, without the ability to stand alone against the whole wide world... That year I went through — it was a year and a half — a very hard time, a very, very hard betrayal: wealthy people who had been very close backed out, because they listened to a few rabbis, because I wanted to push the work forward.
2:15 They are not rabbis of ours. We will bring them all. They took a step back within 72 hours; from people who loved me they became people who spoke out against me, and they went their own way. And I was left alone to cope with it all: the upkeep of my Torah, all my students, all my goals, the wish to build my great dream — the great beis midrash, in that same place — what I had been seeking for so many, many years, my emunah, so that I would have the tools, as I wish and as I will.
2:49 And baruch Hashem, I would be glad for everyone to have wealth of kedushah. All sorts of things — and they spliced them together without bringing what was said before and after. If I came out there about the rich — whoever listened to it hears that I came out against the rich, against those who waste their money on emptiness, and I said that money is needed for matters of kedushah. So all the more so: surely I had no wish to do as the rich do.
Read the whole shiur in English (26 more parts)
3:15 And if until today I have given my blood, my time, my life and my money for the Jewish people, to build so many things, then if I had a lot of money, all the more so: I would go on to make more light, more deeds. And everything I have built until today — and alone, without support, without any help or backing, only with good hearts, with people of good will, with a good heart, with emunah in the holy path — to carry on the light.
3:45 I tell you: fortunate are you, that you are wise and understanding enough to see the falsehood there is in the world, the distortion and the twisting. For today there are already so many technological means, and people invent and piece together all kinds of lies — things cut from twenty years ago, without bringing the whole story, that period, the things that stood at that time. And of course — and now here it is being publicized — "wealth of kedushah."
4:13 Wealth of kedushah — I only want to explain to you — wealth of kedushah. See, then, what my sin was: that I prayed to Hashem to help me with the tools, for His Name's sake; that I asked that there be no poor, that I be able to bestow as I wish and as I will; that I not depend on anyone, that I not depend on any wealthy patron.
4:37 For as it is — it can be said now — if he wishes, he helps; if he does not wish, he does not help. You turn to this patron: if he can, he helps; if not — so be it. That I have the means to reveal His G-dliness, with nothing holding me back, to shine His light, blessed be He, and His G-dliness in the world. To take this as coming from someone who wants to be rich — that is their fine way of judging. With Hashem's help... Whoever knows me knows the truth, and that I truly pray to the Holy One, blessed be He, to give me the tools.
5:08 And also what was said — it was said that they stayed with those rabbis, stayed with those specific rabbis who lined up against me, lined up with those patrons. And that was our point — meaning, if I had had the money and the wealth, they would not have acted against me. They would have been: "Yes, of course, your honor, whatever you say." It was said in pain. So certainly, when one hears the pain — and I was very zealous for Hashem at that time, when they struck at my path — at the path, at the Torah, at everything I am seeking.
5:37 I was not concerned with what was done to me; it did nothing to me. But my holy path, what I want to bring to the world, the goals — and I still have so, so, so much more to give the world. And you will see, with Hashem's help, that everything I want to do is only good, only good. And baruch Hashem, Hashem, blessed be He, gave a holy people, a wise people. May you succeed — succeed; be strong, be happy; think in terms of strength, of greatness, of the greatness of Hashem, blessed be He.
6:08 Amen! To do all that is in our power, to use every tool to shine the light of Hashem, blessed be He, in all the worlds. You know, the great virtue of the Jewish people, the greatest virtue of the Jewish people — always remember — and before that... I once said — those words too were said within words of Torah, and with words of Torah before them, but people always pull out the things that it all hangs on, and always, never — always — how important it is to beware of lashon hara, and of many things, and of hearing distortion — things that are not told correctly, that are not understood correctly.
6:43 I once said a very beautiful thing. The Jewish people went out of Egypt. Every year on Pesach we eat matzos; we eat the matzos. On the face of it, something very puzzling: the Jewish people went out of Egypt — let them go out with some cookies, with dancing, with plenty of pastries, plenty of poultry, with wonderful challos. We would come every year on Pesach with challos. They could have waited a little longer — there were so many miracles: the sea was split for them, the ten plagues, the manna, the quail... for forty years — could a few challos not have come down for them? Or that suddenly they would have a miracle, and they would bake the dough and it would rise in one moment, and they would eat delicacies, sweets and challos — I don't know —
7:30 bread from heaven. An abundance of baked goods. It all could have been in one moment; the Holy One, blessed be He, could have done it all in one moment. Why did they need to have matzos — that they should not eat, that they be in such a rush, everything quick, quick, and it had to be specifically matzos, lechem oni, the bread of poverty? So many miracles before, so many miracles after. And even more than that: all that delay of ours in Egypt.
7:56 I ask you: have you ever thought about what the Jewish people busied themselves with before they went out of the land of Egypt? Instead of taking lots of cakes and challos, and seeing to bread so they would have provisions for the way, for the desert, they gathered gold and silver, all the precious vessels in the land of Egypt, and with that they went out to the desert — and it did not occur to them to prepare food.
8:21 Did you hear? The Torah tells us that the Jewish people took gold and silver and precious stones — "and they emptied out Egypt." You see: the most important thing when people set out on a journey is bread, food, provisions — into an endless desert, there is nothing out there, and they will not be coming back — but what they busied themselves with was precious vessels, precious stones and gold, as they go out of the land of Egypt to receive the Torah.
8:54 Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, may his merit protect us, has a wonderful teaching in Likutei Moharan — there are many wonderful teachings, phenomenal teachings, and some teachings that are tied to one another, that one can learn and connect. One is "Rabbi Shimon opened": contemplation, wealth of kedushah. The purpose of the wealth of kedushah that was spoken of — and precisely those words were said, "of kedushah", not "wealth" but "wealth of kedushah" — with precious stones and pearls — it is in order to reveal His G-dliness, blessed be He.
9:26 Look at the world today: the wealth that rules is the wealth of the kelipah. The whole world is covered in cloud, in fog, in things that are against Hashem, blessed be He, against the Torah, against the very essence of the Jewish people. Who rules over us, in the whole world? The nations of the world impose their will, they voice all their hatred, and here again the true voice of the Jewish people is not heard.
9:52 And all those we see — many of them wealthy, men of money — they are the ones with influence, and that is how they bring their view to the world, and no one disputes them. So what was said, in asking for wealth — of course it is not for ease, and not in order to be rich; it is in order to bring the light of Hashem, blessed be He, to the whole world. And especially in that period, when I was very broken, when they tried with all their might to extinguish and erase, so that no trace of me would remain, nor remnant — and I went through a very, very, very hard time, which I will take with me to Heaven to stand in my defense, along with all the mitzvos.
10:29 I remember those things well — so many things that I will never tell. And it is all from Him, blessed be He, for the good. And what always lifted me and strengthened me was the hard moments, the moments of concealment, of the hiding of His Face. And I fought alone, from nothing, alone, alone, for Hashem, blessed be He. ... but at least I am glad that at such a young age I had aspirations and goals: to reveal our G-d in Heaven and to do what is good before Him.
11:07 Allow me... regarding what was said elsewhere... Good. May you have love. Give honor to one another! Here in this world! Give honor to one another! Here in this world! You do not know how important it is, how important it is — the unity among you, with love. And most important, always: with calm.
11:34 Do not strain yourselves into quarrels for nothing; do not fight over nothing. Truly, it is not something important. What is important is that we grow in unity, that there be much love given freely, that we judge favorably. Today not everyone can recognize the light and see it on every path. People — there are so many hardships and troubles in this world, so many trials in this world, so much darkness in this world. That means we must be strong, and accept everything that comes upon us with love and with joy, but know the most important thing: that the goal is the revelation of His G-dliness, blessed be He, the kingship of Hashem, blessed be He, and the holy geulah, the wondrous one that we all await.
12:20 The great G-dly light that will be revealed in the world — and we will stop being worn down, torn and depleted, looking so small and poor — the Jewish people, who are not heard, and we are scorned by the nations of the world, who laugh at us; and time after time we are killed and bound on the altar for the sanctification of His Name, blessed be He; and the whole world is racing on toward places that you cannot even grasp — all the evil that is in this world.
12:48 Shine the good; turn this world into better people. And for the sanctity of His Name, blessed be He — Hashem, blessed be He — for the sake of His Name, blessed be He, and His honor: to be zealous only for Hashem, blessed be He, for that good. My zeal for Hashem, blessed be He, was immense and awesome, very, very much so, and very, very, very great. And to this day I am zealous for the sake of His Name, blessed be He, and the whole goal, will and desire is that Hashem, blessed be He, have nachas.
13:16 Amen, amen. I wish you, and I also tell you: be wise and understanding, knowing how to understand one thing from another, and knowing that there are important things that need to be understood — not that a person goes and is drawn after nonsense, and hears the things afterward and tries to make sense of them. Words must be true — words of truth, words of truth being spoken, when one hears the voice, the pain and the cry that sounds from that time, from that pain.
13:48 I wish you that you be happy and strong, and pray for me, and be blessed from Heaven, and pray for me that truly I have all the tools, so that I depend on no one, amen! And that my will — whatever I want to do, as I wish and as I will, in the world — I be able to reveal His light, blessed be He, amen! And that it not be a path that rests on the hearts of patrons, on the hearts of the rich, on their wishes, in their time, but as I wish and as I will: whenever I wish to do something before our Master, the Holy One, blessed be He, I be able to in an instant, and not depend on anything, amen! Nor on any patron, amen! Nor on any student, amen! On no one.
14:29 For the whole desire is to reveal His G-dliness, blessed be He. And always, a word of humor — a very lowly thing, yet it lifts one, rung by rung, up to the heights. I wish that the Holy One, blessed be He, bless you, amen, and give you help from Heaven, amen, and good lives, amen. You all know: I was born on the 15th of Iyar, the 15th of Iyar, in the year 5748.
14:57 Only this year did the matter of the date become clear to me, and why: the 15th of Iyar 5748 in gematria is 986. Exactly: the 15th of Iyar 5748 in gematria is 986. Ashirus, wealth, in gematria is 986. When we speak of wealth — wealth is in da'as; wealth in money, to bestow upon the Jewish people, to reveal His G-dliness, blessed be He; that there be no poor, amen, that there be no troubles, amen; to shine His light, blessed be He, in the whole world, amen; to increase goodness and kindness; that there be no sick, amen, that no one come near a hospital, amen; that there be nachas before the Master of heaven and earth, amen, amen; that bounty flow to everyone, supernal bounty, amen, great, amen. So I was born on the day of wealth, which adds up to its number. It is also written in the sefer — chapter 3, verse 3 —
15:51 that on the 15th of Iyar the manna came down for Israel — which is the bounty — sapphire stones came down — came down with the manna — and each one grew rich and gave a gift... So that time hints at bounty of kedushah. May it also be drawn down to all the students and all who are close, amen. May you have blessing from Heaven: great bounty, a bounty of healing, amen, of joys, amen, of wealth of kedushah, amen, good lives; to be zealous for Hashem, blessed be He, amen; to love Hashem, blessed be He, amen; to love all the Jewish people, amen.
16:24 That is the most important thing. Always know: not to hate, and to love everyone; to judge favorably, to accept with love, and to shine the light. To go backward and busy ourselves with the bad — it is written... even when we are going back, do not look. There is the verse: "Do not look behind you"... We need to keep going forward. And then afterward we will draw down the light — to go after the light, to reveal His light, blessed be He, to judge favorably, to increase love, and to reveal His light, blessed be He, in the whole world.
16:53 Amen. May Hashem, blessed be He, grant us the revelation of His G-dliness, blessed be He, amen! And may everyone have good lives, amen! Supernal bounty, good tidings, amen! And salvation from Heaven! Fortunate are you, Israel; fortunate is the Jewish people. May you truly merit to draw near all who are far; with Hashem's help, may there be weddings; may supernal bounty flow to you, amen! Good lives, amen! A good light, amen! All the blessings and good bounty, amen! And pray for me for a complete healing, amen, and for strength from Heaven, amen! Good tidings, amen!
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